A couple of factors kept the snowstorm from hitting our area as predicted. The storm was forecast to hit the West Coast, travel across the country and drop snow on the East Coast. But Brian Edwards of Accuweather.com said cold, dry air from the north kept the storm off to the south. While areas farther south still received some snow, it was weaker than expected.

Where the storm hit also played into forecasters' ability to accurately predict its effects, said Gary Lessor, assistant to the director of meteorological studies and the Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, When storms hit in the northern section of the West Coast, meteorologists have more data to work with than when they hit farther south like this one did, he said.

Computer models regularly go out 16 days, but Lessor said the closer you get to a storm hitting, the easier it is to accurately predict what will happen. Within three days, meteorologists can usually predict with about 70 percent to 80 percent accuracy, and get the best results within a couple days. Except for this storm, the predictions this winter have been pretty accurate, he said.

“This storm was an aberration compared to some of the other storms we’ve had this winter,” Lessor said. “Now that we’re beginning to spend more money, in the last five years our chance of accurately predicting a five to seven day forecast has more than doubled.”

Temperatures are expected to stay cold this week, with a possibility of some snow Saturday or Sunday, Edwards said. Temperatures throughout March are expected to be two to three degrees below what they normally are, according to Lessor, with the possibility of cold lasting into April. There’s also the possibility of more snow this month and even next month.

“We think winter is going to continue,” Lessor said.

Though this winter isn't the worst on record, it has been much harsher than usual.

Edwards said the snowfall in White Plains has been 56.9 inches this year, well above the normal of 22 inches. Temperatures have been below normal since November, making the winter feel unusually harsh.

This February was five degrees below average, Lessor said, and January was about two-and-a-half degrees below average.

Can global warming be real if it’s cold in the U.S.? Um… yes! It's quite cold across much of the United States right now, thanks to the dread "polar vortex." Bitterly cold. Horrifically cold! So what does this tell us about global warming? Not very much. Sorry. A single cold snap in the U.S. doesn't disprove global warming any more than the record heat waves currently hitting Australia prove that it's happening. But since a lot of people — like Donald Trump — seem confused on this point, it's worth recapping a few basics: 1) Global warming refers to the whole planet, not just the United States. The term "global warming" typically refers to the rise in the average temperature of Earth's climate system since the late 19th century, as well as predictions for future warming. A key bit there is "Earth's average temperature." It can be very cold in one part of the world and very hot in another at the exact same time. (Sometimes the exact same weather event can do both: The jet stream is currently making some parts of the U.S. unusually hot and some parts unusually cold.) What we're interested in is whether the global average is changing over a longer period. That's impossible to judge from a single point in time in a small area — the continental United States is less than 2 percent of the Earth's surface. 2) For example: December 2013 was an unusually warm month even though it was colder in the U.S. So let's take this past December as an example. North America was colder than the average over the past decade. But Europe and Russia were much hotter than average. India was cooler than average. Australia was warmer than average. And so on

Fireplaces may be making a big comeback with the price of oil and natural gas. Should that happen wood would skyrocket, too, guaranteed!! A no win situation and we are, and always will be, at the mercy of the fuel providers, forever, wherever you live or wherever they come from.

The winter for you all has been like being on motion control...a.k.a. "House Arrest" My sympathies & thanks together..since a cold North...sucks up warm Carribean climate to Florida... Vero...a.k.a. "ComfortWorld"..

I don't know, I've been alive for 40 years and this winter does not seem normal mainly because we haven't gotten any breaks from the snow or cold. I remember growing up in the 80s and there were plenty of spring-like days in February and March.

I've been around longer than you and yes, it's been unusually cold and snowy, statistics agree. I think the way Jim recalls it, he walked to school 50 miles each way in 6' of snow while being chased by bears.